About TokenZero
TokenZero provides tools for reducing LLM costs, including a local static auditor and a gateway. Its MCP server helps coding agents inspect token waste, compare model prices, and prepare cache-friendly request bodies.
Key features
- 01Local static token-waste audits
- 02Model price and arbitrage estimates
- 03Cache-friendly request-body optimization
- 04CLI gateway setup and usage checks
- 05Pull request cost-diff checks
Use cases
- 01Audit a repository for token waste
- 02Compare model options for a task
- 03Check cost changes in a pull request
- 04Connect a project to the TokenZero gateway
MCP support
The stdio MCP server exposes local repository auditing and model-arbitrage tools, plus request-body optimization through the TokenZero service. The optimization tool sends the supplied request body to that service.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://tokenzero.sh/mcpclaude mcp add --transport http tokenzero-ai-tokenzero https://tokenzero.sh/mcp{"mcpServers":{"tokenzero-ai-tokenzero":{"type":"http","url":"https://tokenzero.sh/mcp"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"tokenzero-ai-tokenzero":{"type":"http","url":"https://tokenzero.sh/mcp"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"tokenzero-ai-tokenzero":{"type":"http","url":"https://tokenzero.sh/mcp"}}}{"mcpServers":{"tokenzero-ai-tokenzero":{"serverUrl":"https://tokenzero.sh/mcp"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
Tools
Details
From the project READMETokenZero tools
Open-source tools from TokenZero, the bring-your-own-key gateway that cuts OpenAI, Anthropic and Gemini bills.
@tokenzero/mcpis a stdio MCP server for Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf and Cline: audit the open project for token waste (locally), price model alternatives, make request bodies cache-friendly.@tokenzero/cliconnects a project to the gateway with no code changes, audits LLM token waste locally, shows usage and verifies signed savings receipts.- The analyzer (
src/audit-core.ts) is the static token-waste audit used by the CLI, the hosted repo audit and the PR cost-diff check. It runs entirely on your machine. - The pricing table (
src/pricing.ts) lists the list prices every estimate is computed from, versioned and dated.
Audit a project
npx -y @tokenzero/cli audit # local, nothing is uploaded
npx -y @tokenzero/cli audit --json
npx -y @tokenzero/cli audit --fail-over 30 # CI gate: exit 1 above 30% recoverable
git diff origin/main | npx -y @tokenzero/cli audit --diff - --format markdown
Audits are static heuristics: they read code, not traffic. Numbers are estimates at list prices; verified savings come from the gateway's signed ledger once requests flow through it.
What it looks for:
- large static prompts sent without caching directives (Anthropic
cache_control, OpenAI prefix stability) - prompt templates defined away from their call sites with no caching anywhere
- frontier models on prompts that read like extraction or classification
- LLM calls inside loops (Batch API or shared-prefix caching candidates)
- unpriced or retired model ids
Library and SDK repositories are detected and their findings downgraded, since their call sites pass through whatever the caller chooses.
Check every pull request (GitHub Action)
# .github/workflows/tokenzero.yml
name: TokenZero cost check
on: pull_request
permissions: { contents: read, pull-requests: write }
jobs:
cost-check:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with: { fetch-depth: 0 }
- uses: tokenzero-ai/tokenzero/action@v0
One comment per PR, updated on every push; nothing leaves the runner. See action/README.md for inputs and outputs.
Use it from a coding agent (MCP)
claude mcp add tokenzero -- npx -y @tokenzero/mcp # Claude Code
{ "mcpServers": { "tokenzero": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@tokenzero/mcp"] } } }
audit_repo_token_waste and calculate_model_arbitrage run entirely on your machine. optimize_prompt_payload sends the request body you give it to the TokenZero service (https://tokenzero.sh unless TOKENZERO_URL is set), so do not put secrets in it.
Connect a project to the gateway
npx -y @tokenzero/cli init
init audits locally, creates a workspace, and (with your consent) adds OPENAI_BASE_URL / ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL to .env. Your provider keys pass through untouched and are never stored.
Authentication: send the workspace key as the X-TokenZero-Key header (recommended). For zero-code setups the CLI can also embed it in the base URL (/w/<key>/v1); treat such URLs as secrets and use tokenzero rotate-key if one leaks.
Develop
npm install
npm run build # bundles cli/bin/tokenzero.mjs (single file, no runtime deps)
npm test
License: Apache-2.0 · [email protected]
Comments
New to MCP?
From what the protocol is to installing your first server, these answers cover most first questions.
An open protocol that defines how AI applications connect to external tools and data in a uniform way. Clients talk to the model; MCP servers provide tools, resources and prompt templates. They exchange standard messages, so one server can be reused by many clients.